Daily News

Loyalty360 Reads: June 12, 2019

Aldi Expands
In grocery-retail, budget products and brands are on the rise, and in keeping with this trend, Aldi is increasing its footprint in the United States. The company has a “$5-billion plan to expand to 2,500 stores in America by the end of 2022, up from around 1,900 today. Aldi is on track to become the third-largest grocery chain in the country behind Walmart and Kroger.”

A New Kind of Destination Opens at JFK Airport
In general, luxurious air travel has seen a decline in appeal, but maybe that won’t be the case for terminals. JFK has opened a rather decadent attraction. “The terminal was designed by Eero Saarinen to look like a bird in flight sitting among the mechanical flying birds on the surrounding tarmacs. The glitz and glamor of the airline industry was at its peak at the time of the opening, and although TWA is no more, the terminal has been restored as a hotel.”

Amazon Launches Credit Card for Those with Bad Credit
Amazon has “partnered with publicly traded bank Synchrony Financial to launch ‘Amazon Credit Builder,’ a program that lends to shoppers with no credit history or bad credit, who would otherwise be exempt from Amazon’s loyalty cards.” This may seem a bit sketchy, but the program includes measures to help card-holders build credit. “The program prompts users with financial literacy tools and tips to learn about building credit. For example, it might include a tutorial on why someone should pay a minimum.”

Leadership

Lands’ End Names Chief Customer Officer
More and more, we’re seeing brands appoint chief customer officers to ensure that customer experience is a factor in all departments, rather than something that’s siloed off. Now, Land’s End has appointed “Sarah Rasmusen, currently Senior Vice President of E-commerce, to the newly-created position of Chief Customer Officer.”

Your Phone, Distraction, and Creativity
A new article in Harvard Business Review highlights an interesting new challenge the business community faces today. Phones are distracting millennials and Gen Z-ers (that shouldn’t be a surprise), which is decreasing motivation, but may increase creativity. Brian Solis writes, “I began to build my workday with frequent breaks for ‘productive distraction.’ I use these planned breaks to let those impulses run free. I also try to include something physical during breaks, like a moment of simple, brief meditation, which helps reset my mind and gives me fresh perspective when I resume work.”